Page 16 of Mechanic's Charming Bride

My stomach sinks.

No… she wouldn’t…

I take the steps up to my loft two at a time, my heart in my throat.

“Sam?” I call out, my voice ringing in the horrible silence.

I stop just outside of the guest room. The bed’s messy, sheets strewn about from our activities last night. The bags of clothes I bought her are still on the floor in a pile, along with the towel that Sam had dropped.

I swing around and head for the bedroom, the wish of her car simply being stolen entering my mind like a damn prayer. But of course, the truth is always much simpler than that.

“Sam?”

Nothing. Not even a note left behind to explain her leaving.

She doesn’t have to, of course—she barely knows me. But it still hurts, still creates a horrible ache in my heart that I’ve never felt before.

Dejected, I head back to the guest room and fish my phone out of my pocket while slumping down onto the bed. My thumb hovers over the new contact I added yesterday during lunch, Sam’s name taunting me.

I could be an asshole and call her up and demand an explanation. But wouldn’t that just be putting me in the same vein as her fiancé?

I should’ve waited until she woke up. Waking up in the empty bed probably freaked her out and put too many things into perspective—things I could’ve soothed if I had been here.

But no, I just had to go and be proactive about the damn car repairs..

Fuck me…

Just as I’m about to toss my phone across the room, a text comes in. With none other than Sam’s name attached to it.

With my heart pounding, I open it.

All that’s there is an attachment that, when I tap on it, is a pinned location about an hour away. What the hell? Is this her way of telling me that she’s home?

But then another text comes in from her, scaring the absolutely shit out of me.

Sam Lorraine: SOS

Chapter Eight

Sam

“You’re a fucking bitch!”

I flinch as another set of wedding china is thrown at me, crashing against the wall where I’ve been standing for the past twenty minutes. “You leave me at the fucking altar like that? You think you’re hot shit for doing that?”

Frank’s face is so red from anger there’s a vein popping out from his temple. His mouth is wet with spit while he practically foams at the mouth.

I’ve never felt this kind of fear in my life, especially from Frank. Sure, I know how unhinged he can be when he’s pissed, but it’s never been directed at me before.

My hand hurts from how hard I’m clutching it behind my back while I squeeze myself into the corner, trying to shrink and disappear from the man raging in our living room.

It’s my fault for being idiotic enough to be tricked. He called me up and threatened to hurt himself if I didn’t come home. It’s even more stupid of me to step into the house after seeing that he looked well and fine once I did arrive.

This man that I’ve known for years, who I’ve never been scared of until now, has trapped me in our house with no way out.

“Answer me, Samantha!” He screams. “Did you enjoy embarrassing me like that? Did you get off on it?”

“No,” I blurt out.

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